Help me.... research paper topic?

[studentnnp]

I am in my last semester of school, and I am having trouble coming up with a topic for my final paper and teaching assignment. I want something cutting edge, that hasn't been studied to death, but I can't seem to think of anything that is both cutting edge and has a variety of primary research articles to cite. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

[llg, PhD, RN]

What you are asking is practically impossible to exist. If you want something with lots of primary research to cite, then you will have to pick a topic that has been written about many times before. If you want something "new," then you will have to deal with the fact that it is a new topic and therefore has not been studied much. You can't have it both ways. "New" and "lots of research" are opposites of each other and don't normally exist simultaneously.

I always suggest going to the literature first. Look through the research and see what topics are there that interest you -- rather than picking a topic and then hoping you can find sufficient references for your paper. You'll save a lot of time and heartache that way.

[nurserynurse55]

I did mine on neonatal hospice services/ethical problems last spring for my final paper. It worked out well, and I learned a lot. I will try to come up with something.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

What about something like probiotic use in the prevention and treatment of NEC? There is a ton of research on the risk factors and possible causes for NEC, and probiotics seem like a promising intervention, but there isn't nearly enough research to recommend them yet.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

I have a patient right now with genetic surfactant deficiency syndrome. It's an interesting condition, usually fatal, treated with transplant. Probably not what you were thinking, but I'm finding it an interesting, rarely heard of, but with a lot of research (from what I've seen).

It's great to see another NNP student on here finally.....I thought I was the only one!

[kitty29]

I did mine on neonatal hospice services/ethical problems last spring for my final paper. It worked out well, and I learned a lot. I will try to come up with something.

I agree; anything to do with bereavement support and/or cultural differences.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

If I remember correctly, there was an entire Journal of Maternal-Child Nursing dedicated to neonatal/pediatric end-of-life, bereavement and palliative care recently.